This course (Reading Literature: Classics and Counter-Traditions) teaches students the processes of close reading, analysis, and interpretation of literature and invites students to make connections between literature and their experiences. Students learn to distinguish between reading for comprehension and reading for pleasure, to recognize key principles of storytelling, and to distinguish types of literary works. Introducing students to texts that are international and multicultural in scope as well as to Western literature, the course focuses on the social processes and literary qualities that affect how particular works come to be considered "classics."